By Steve Hubrecht
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Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA, Doug Clovechok, has stepped down as B.C. Liberal opposition Caucus Whip to throw his support behind Liberal leadership candidate, Kevin Falcon, in the party’s upcoming leadership election.
Clovechok has been in the opposition caucus whip role for the past two provincial parliamentary sessions in Victoria, but explained to the Pioneer that as part of the Liberals leadership team he had to remain neutral toward all Liberal leadership candidates.
“But I met with interim Liberal leader, Shirley Bond, and told her I really wanted to support a candidate, so I would have to step down from the
caucus whip role,” Clovechok told the Pioneer. “I really believe that in this leadership race, we’ve got some great candidates, but there is one in particular I want to back, because we need an experienced candidate and experienced leader. That candidate is Kevin Falcon.”
Clovechok said “it was an honour to be caucus whip. It was a great experience to be part of the Liberal leadership team.” The caucus whip’s job is to ensure discipline among a given party’s members.
Falcon served as a Liberal MLA from 2001 to 2013, and was provincial Minister of Health and provincial Minister of Transportation under former Premier Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government. In 2011, Falcon narrowly lost the Liberal leadership race to Christy Clark, who after winning the leadership race replaced the outgoing Campbell as B.C. Premier. Falcon served as B.C. Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier under Clark before leaving politics in 2013. After months of speculation that he would return to politics, Falcon announced this past May that he would seek the Liberal leadership, and many major news outlets promptly labelled him the early frontrunner in the race.
The Liberal leadership election will be held this coming Feb. 3 to Feb. 5.
